How to get lobbying meetings? In most cases, if you’re trying hard, you’ll be able to get meetings with at least 2/3 of the Congressional offices that represent you.
What Trying Hard Looks Like:
- Submitting meeting request early. Sending follow up phone calls and emails. Being politely persistent.
- Bird Dogging. Finding and attending events the leader is speaking at. Talk with the leader or their staff at the event and ask to arrange a meeting with them… This alone will almost guarantee a meeting. Remember leaders and their staff go to public events to interact with you the public. Don’t be afraid to walk up and introduce yourself. They have dozen’s of such interactions each week.
- Mobilizing 12+ people each week to call or email the leader in support of Borgen Project legislation. If they are receiving emails each week in support of the Electrify Africa Act or one of the bills we’re pushing, they are going to be inclined to meet with you when they see a request to meet about the bill.
- Determining who the staff are in your leaders office and reaching out to them directly for a meeting.
- Utilizing social media. Tweet or FaceBook the leader asking for a meeting about the bill. It’s all about creating lots of touch points with the office. By utilizing social media you are getting on the radar of the Communications Director who is one more person in the office who might be able to help you get a meeting.
- Reaching out to neighboring districts. If there are multiple Congressional districts your city and/or the suburbs of your city, try connecting with those neighboring districts as well. Congressional offices are usually smart enough to understand that a person living 20-minutes outside of their district is going to be talking and influencing people in their district.
Branching Out: People living in Seattle’s 7th District are usually able to get meetings with Congressional Offices representing the 1st, 9th and 8th Districts as well.
Remember: Your 3-members of Congress are elected to represent you back in D.C! The job of leaders and their staff is to take meetings with people in their district and hear their concerns. Most offices take this role very seriously and will gladly meet with you. Leaders are obviously harder to get meetings with, but for staffers meetings with everyday citizens is a big part of the job.